The Plow Behind The Dow
Stronger-than-expected earnings from Dow components are maintaining a steady bid for blue-chip stocks, which is spilling over to keep tech at
breakeven levels.
Caterpillar
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PowerRating) and International Paper
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The Dow is up 50 at 10,522, the S&P 500 is flat at 1202.01 and the Nasdaq Composite is down 6.05 at 2023.17.
Earnings for the world’s largest maker of earthmovers and heavy construction machinery came in at 78 cents, seven cents above views. CAT is the best gainer on the Dow, up 3.13 at 53.48, and reported particularly good results from its Cat Financial division, a subsidiary that provides loans to customers and dealers.
International Paper also beat views by eight cents, to 13 cents but did so on an 80% decline in earnings. The stock is up a more subdued .62 to 38.85.
Johnson & Johnson’s below-estimate earnings results did not include the $14 billion cost of acquiring drugmaker Alza Corp. The stock started sharply lower, but is now breaking out to a multi-year high as traders digest the still-relatively good performance in light of the acquisition. JNJ is trading on its high of the session up .71 at 54.44.
Biogen
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One of the most anticipated earnings event in a weekly calendar packed with reports from hundreds of companies and half of the Dow components comes from chip giant Intel
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PowerRating) after the close of trading today. INTC is down .44 at 28.70 ahead of its announcement scheduled for after the close of Tuesday trading.